The Need For Energy Renewal

Most of the energy we produce and use comes from non-sustainable resources. Our energy usage has taken its toll on the world. We can see the environmental and economic damage all around us, and yet we continue to use too little of the renewable energy types of resources we should be using, while using too much of those that cannot be renewed. Research into renewable energy has revealed several different types of which we can take advantage. These types are from the sun, wind, organics, earth, and water.

The sun is directly and indirectly responsible for four of our renewable energy options, but the most obvious is solar energy. Solar energy produces electricity from the sun and is used in business, industry, and the home. It can power our lights, heat our water, cool our homes, and produce the electricity we need to run our appliances and gadgets. While just about any area of the world can benefit from solar energy, it is most useful in those parts of the world with high sun exposure for the majority of the year.

Driven by the heat of the sun, the wind’s energy is captured by windmills, or wind turbines, and distributed for agricultural, industrial, and residential purposes. Sun and wind cause the evaporation of water. This produces precipitation, which flows into the world’s rivers. We can capture its energy through the use of hydroelectric power plants.

Another type of renewable energy is biomass. Energy from biomass comes from organic matter, which grows and develops from sun and water. The bioenergy we receive from biomass makes fuels, chemicals, and electricity we can use to survive and assist all life on earth. Bioenergy, or life energy, is a resource that continues to renew year after year.

The sun is not involved with geothermal energy. Geothermal energy comes from the heat inside of the earth. Energy from beneath our feet will heat our water, keep our homes and other structures nice and cool, and produce electricity.

Our oceans are an expansive source of renewable energy. Its energy comes from the gravitational pull of the moon that creates tides, tides and winds that create waves, and heat from the sun warms the shallows. All of these can be harvested for energy.

People have consumed and continue to consume precious, non-renewable energy resources. Our energy consumption is not only stripping the earth of its natural resources, it puts toxic particles into our air and water, which hurts all life on earth. We can stop hurting our environment by switching over to renewable types of energy.

Replacing energy that cannot replenish with renewable energy sources will have beneficial effects on the economy. Those who work for an industry that is guaranteed to deal with shortages and eventually exhaust its resources probably find it difficult to relax and feel comfortable about their financial future. However, when people work in the renewable energy industry, they can be certain that renewable energy will always need to be collected and maintained. Instead of investing in resources that are drained from countries thousands of miles away, investors will invest in an energy that will continue to renew.

Oil and coal will not last forever and if we continue to use those non-renewing resources, we will hit rock bottom one day, and that will mean we have caused irreparable damage to our world. If we are going to leave a sustainable and beautiful inheritance to the children of our children, we have to get serious about making renewable energy our only energy resource.